Safety device for fluid containers



March 22, 1949. R. w. HARVEY SAFETY DEVICE FOR FLUID CONTAINERS 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed DGO. 30, 1944 INVENTQR RAYMOND 'W. HARVEY ATTORNEY March 22,1949. R. w. HARVEY. 2,465,095l

SAFETY DEVICE FOR FLUID CONTAINERS Filed Deo. 5o', 1944 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR RA Y/V/VD W HARVEY ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 22, 1949 HTED ATE-NT Ye.Ii-1:1613.

This invention .relates to the Icontrol of iuids escaping from eontainers. It is esnecaily l'concerned with preventing the passage into the atmosphere of noxious lgasesleall-lng from containes in which they are stored.` As' a speciiic exampie of the utility of the invention, it may be neted that the sto'i'age of lchlorine .under pressure has long presented a problem owing to the disastrous consequences likely to arise inthe event koffleakjage of the gas into the 'presence of human beings. A source vof such leakage is presented b'yfzthe development of Ldefects in thevalv'es o'i the bodies of the cylinders in which the chlorine is steed and treinen-@fied weer sreeeiiize .The piesent inye'ntionhas for. an object the provision Vof simple yet highly eziective safety device for confining gases pi* .liquidsl which leahk'ffi ein a container pievientin'g their escalpeinto the atmosphere. A further `oqn'reict is to prei/1de ,a safety device of the above noted :character shall be light vin Weight and Aiieacliiy a` ie ilie eenieiiier by eee eeieeii fiii eiiiiiiieiiei object is the provision 4eff such la device fqnrnaineine e .fluid-teile eine with the .centaine @y adhesion which is :increased Jby lrise .gf pg'esse Within tine .device "ii-ie iiiveiiiien .also eeiiieiieee ,iiieiiiie .fsf feeiiiteting the exneditieus iiemoval of the device fijm the container when desired. M

Other objects and advantages of Athe inventign wiil be heijeinafterdescribed andclaimed.A

In the accompanying drawings:

i is a view in lelevation yshowing a safetydevice embodying `my invention applied Vto aleenventionai container `foi' the storage end tansportaticn of fluid under pressure.

Fig. 2 is a" smila View, taken at right angles @Figli Fig. Sis a view'in longitudinal section thrqugh the Inpper portion of the safety ,device .as'vap'nlied to `the container, A

Fig. i is a view similarto Fig. 3 showing the urppe'rtion of thedevice when ijemovved frfom Vthe container.

ri-ie. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 3, butvillustrating the insertion of means for facilitating the 'removal of the safetydevice freni the container.

Fig. e is a v iew yin transverse section, taken "en line of Fig. 5.

Figs. 7 and 8' are detail views of certain modnf cations.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown at .ie .e eoiiveiiiieiiei .eeiiieiiier ef leeneieiiyeiiiiidjf'ical l shape, onstomaijily used Yfor the .s'tqagefand iieiieperiiiieefeiiieiiiieiiiideriireeeiiie- Stiles@- Ais nel` end .0f seid eenieiiiei" hee eiieeiiesi iiieieie i-,iie usual valve (hety .Shov'ri which ie @Wired b'Y ,lie eilie'iiiiery Genil! "in .cairyiiis" su@ my invention, I prei/ide e Cep i?, of .ilrietell @wither .eliiieble materiel, elleeed 'igt one end ant/110m# at its nnositefend," rid'of lan intena'l c'r'osseectioilel enea. gr'eetefrth n tiiiif the pernos' of wie ieiiieif 1er to which 'it is ,to ,ne eleiiiiei ,Seeilredid iiieleei? ei'iiee'eiii .iieepeii end 'isv a fieiiibieiiiembierie' of ,dipheei i3 ,Qf iiibfiber. rubberized 'febri'dor Other'sfiiitaiiieeleiifc meteen. V:ma hviriggs, einer seeming 1l e" @el 24)'. "The diameter 'of said'mening4 1s substantially ieee than iheief the bpfiv ,0f the centaine? i0' S0 that seid flexible meipbflane .wiuadiiere tightly to the enter' Wall ,of 'the onta rief 1,0 Wheii Lilie 'cap' .is -applied thereielalrid' ,Wiilereete ,e pressuetight bdd' Y The flexible membrane i3 may .he secured `to the capA I2 in .any'suitabl' nel eonvenient 'man i'. .Pier .eiemple iheeinei .be iireifideld e itieidj iellic fiaiige 1.4 surrounding the cap l2 ,stilts @wetend and bieneder .Otherwise suitably/fse- .`c ulr.e d thereto? land the'puter rimport' eff the membrane I3 may be 'irlnlyelam'ned betv en said rigid harige and Ian inulrA .latfe "th Thereupon, the attendant may complete the operation by pushing or kicking the plate ZI, with the result that the cap I2 is brought into its position shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3, and the bottom piece I9 of the yoke is engaged with the lower end of the container I0. The flexible membrane I3 now engages the container I0 in a Zone of substantial width, extending around the container, and with an especially tight and leakproof fit. Any gas leaking through the cap I I, or from any part of the container I above the membrane I3 is thus imprisoned within the cap I2. Through the engagement of the yoke piece I9 with the bottom of the container III, the cap I2 is prevented from receding from the position to which it has been placed, and the seal between the membrane I3 and the container I0 is maintained with undiminished tightness.

So tight is this seal in practice that I have found it necessary to devise special means for removing the cap from the container. For that purpose, I provide a pair of shoes 22, l2 (Figs. 5 and 6) each comprising a semi-cylindrical piece of sheet metal rigidly attached, as by brazing, to a curved bar 23 of rectangular cross-section. This bar serves both as a support for the sheet metal portion of the shoe and also to provide a shoulder against which to drive the sheet metal portion between the flexible membrane I3 and the wall of the container III. The sheet metal section of the shoe is crimped, as illustrated at 22 to facilitate entry of the shoe between the membrane and the container wall.

It will be noted that the opening in the annular plate I5 is of such diameter as to provide suflcient space for the entry of the shoes 22 between said plate and the container wall. When the shoes are driven upwardly between the membrane I3 and the container IB, as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, they break the adhesive seal between said membrane and container; so that the cap I2 may now be removed by rst drawing the yoke to the left (Fig. 2), disengaging the yoke plate I9 from the container, and then pushing the yoke and cap upwardly.

In Figs. 'l and 8, I have illustrated alternative arrangements for obtaining a pressure-tight seal between the cap I2 and the flexible membrane I3. As shown in Fig. '7, the lower end portion of the cap I2 may be flared outwardly at I2 and then extended inwardly to provide a flange I2 for receiving the membrane I3. The latter may be clamped between said flange I2 and an annular plate 25 by screws 26.

In Fig. 8 the lower end portion of the cap is bent outwardly to form a ange 21; and the membrane I3 is clamped between said ange and an annular bar 28 of angular crosssection, through screws 29.

The cap I2 may be provided with a suitable valve, as indicated at 30, for relieving pressure Within the cap when desired. The valve 30 should, 'of course, be open during the applying of the cap to the container. Said valve may be of well-known construction, comprising a body member 3| having screw threaded engagement in the valve casing and normally obstructing passage to the outlet 32. The body member 3l has a stem 3l extending outside the valve casing for operation by a suitable wrench.

It will be seen that my invention provides a safety-device of simple construction for effectively preventing the escape of noxious gases from the container to the atmosphere. The device may be quickly applied to the container by one attendant without tools and, when applied, is maintained in tightly sealed condition through the engagement of the flexible membrance I3 with one end portion of the container and the yoke plate I9 with the opposite end. When removal of the cap I2 is desired, the shoes 22 provide a simple and effective means whereby the gas-tight seal between the membrane I3 and container I0 may be broken. It will be apparent that, while I have illustrated the cap I2 as applied to the upper end of the container, said cap may instead, if desired, be applied to the lower end, in which event the yoke plate I9 is engaged with the container cap II. The cap I2 may be readily applied to either end of the container I0 whether the latter be in horizontal, vertical, or other position. The device may further be applied to either end of a container not equipped with shipping cap II, and also when the container valve (not shown) is fitted with the customary auxiliary valve or connected piping to the users processes, if such connecting piping be severed or confined to an area which may be encased within cap I2.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for confining uids escaping from a container, said apparatus comprising a cap having a flexible membrane sealed thereto and extending inwardly of said cap, said membrane having an opening therein of substantially less area than the cross-sectional area of said container whereby said membrane surrounds the container and adherently engages the same over a substantial zone on the container body when the cap is applied, a yoke comprising a pair of arms connected with said cap, a plate extending between the ends of said arms opposite said cap, said arms being of such length that when said cap is pushed over an end of said container said plate is adjacent the other end of the container in position for being pushed into engagement with said other end.

2. Apparatus for confining fluids escaping from a container, said apparatus comprising a cap having a exible membrane sealed thereto and extending inwardly of said cap, said membrane having an opening therein of substantially less area than the cross-sectional area of said container whereby said membrane surrounds the container and adherently engages the same over a substantial zone on the container body when the cap is applied, a yoke comprising a pair of arms connected with said cap, a plate extending between the ends of said arms opposite said cap, said arms being of such length that when said cap is pushed over an end of said container said plate is adjacent the other end of the container in position for being pushed into engagement with said other end, a kick-plate extending part way between the first-mentioned plate and said cap, and means for connecting said kick-plate to said yoke arms.

3. Apparatus for confining fluids escaping from a container, said apparatus comprising a cap having a flexible membrane sealed thereto and extending inwardly of said cap, said membrane having an opening therein of substantially less area than the cross-sectional area of said cont-ainer whereby said membrane surrounds the container and adherently engages the same over a substantial zone on the container body when the cap is applied, a yoke comprising a pair of arms connected with said cap, a plate extending between the ends of said arms opposite said cap, said arms being of such length that when said cap is pushed over an end of said container said plate is adjacent the other end of the container in position for being pushed into engagement with said other end, a kick-plate extending part way between the first-mentioned plate and said cap, and means for connecting said kick-plate to said yoke arms, said kick-plate connectingmeans extending between said arms at only one side thereof, the space between said yoke arms being open at the other side to enable the yoke arms and rst-mentioned plate to be applied to the container by a force applied to said kickplate.

4. Apparatus for conning fluids escaping from a container, said apparatus comprising a cap having a flexible membrane sealed thereto and extending inwardly of said cap, said membrane having an opening therein of substantially less area than the cross-sectional area of said container whereby said membrane surrounds the container and adherently engages the same over a substantial zone on the container body when the cap is applied, a yoke comprising a pair of arms connected with said cap, a plate extending between the ends of said arms opposite said cap and rigidly secured to said arms, said arms being of such length that when said cap is pushed down over an end of said container said plate is adjacent the other end of the container in position for being pushed into engagement with said other end.

5. Apparatus for confining fluids escaping from a container, said apparatus comprising a cap having a ilexible membrane sealed thereto and extending inwardly of said cap, said membrane having an opening therein of substantially less area than the cross-sectional area of said container whereby said membrane surrounds the container and adherently engages the same over a substantial zone on the container body when the cap is applied, a yoke comprising a pair of arms connected with said cap, a plate extending between the ends of said arms opposite said cap and rigidly secured to said arms, said arms being of such length that when said cap is pushed down over an end of said container said bottom plate is adjacent th-e other end of the container in position for being pushed into engagement with said other end, a kick-plate extending part way between the inst-mentioned plate and said cap, and means for connecting said kick-plate to said yoke arms, said kick-plate connecting-means extending between said arms at only one side thereof, the space between said yoke arms being open at the other side to enable the yoke arms and first-mentioned plate to be applied to the container by a force applied to said kick-plate.

6. In combination, a uid container, a cap having a exible membrane sealed thereto and extending inwardly of said cap, said cap being fitted over an end of said container, said membrane having an opening therein of substantially less area than the cross-sectional area of said container whereby said membrane surrounds said container and adherently engages the same over a substantial Zone on the container body, a yoke comprising a pair of arms connected with said cap and extending to the other end of said container, an end plate connected to said arms and slidably engaging said other end of said container, and a kick-plate connected to Said arms between the ends thereof.

7. In combination, a iiuid container, .a cap having a exible membrane sealed thereto and extending inwardly of said cap, said cap being tted over an end of said container, said membrane having an opening therein of substantially less area than the cross-sectional area of said container whereby said membrane surrounds said container and adherently engages the same over a substantial Zone on the container body. a yoke comprising a pair of arms connected with said cap and extending to the other end of said container, an end plate connected to said arms and slidably engaging said other end of said container, a kick plate extending part way between said end plate and said cap, and means connecting said kick-plate to said yoke arms, said kickplate connecting means extending between said arms at only one side thereof, the space between said yoke arms being open at the other side to enable said yoke arms and end plate to be applied to the container by a force applied to said kick-plate.

RAYMOND W. HARVEY.

CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 215,852 Williams et al. May 27, 1879 470,531 Aimes, Jr. Mar. 8, 1892 650,944 Marble June 5, 1900 1,151,875 Haslup Aug. 31, 1915 1,528,299 Mezzo Mar. 3, 1925 1,711,176 Moore Apr. 30, 1929 1,714,360 Golladay May 21, 1929 1,779,060 Choate Oct. 21, 1930 1,825,348 Gurnsey Sept. 29, 1931 1,904,091 Shoop Apr. 18, 1933 2,094,889 Hooper Oct. 5, 1937 2,307,884 Greenwood Jan. 12, 1943 2,328,433 Dyer Aug. 31, 1943 2,339,827 White Jan. 25, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 81,050 Germany Oct. 7, 1894 

